Saturday, February 13, 2010
Vancouver 2010
Did anybody else get to watch the opening ceremonies to the Winter Olympics Friday night? I thought it was a beautiful ceremony despite a technical faux pas at the end that wasn't really huge. But I was amazed to see the comments from American viewers following a blog post on Yahoo about the "10 Best Moments" of the ceremony. I may be over-reading the comments from a few boneheads, but it often makes me embarrassed as an American to see how idiotic and venomous some in this country are at achievements outside our borders. Canada is not paradise, but it's a beautiful and civilized country; its major cities, like Vancouver, are world-class. It has a deep appreciation for the arts; it has a functioning parliamentary democracy; and it obviously has 33 million citizens who are proud to be Canadian. If you saw the ceremony, you saw the first segment devoted to an an honoring of Canadian "First Nations," the Indian (or aboriginal) tribes from all parts of the country. I'd be interested in what others think--about the ceremony, about the comments of the Americans who were given to big put-downs (in comments that contained massive spelling and grammatical errors), etc.
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The link to the article and comments mentioned above is:
ReplyDeletehttp://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/The-10-best-moments-from-Vancouver-s-Opening-Cer?urn=oly,219441
This is just another example of American exceptionalism blocking the appreciation of the accomplishments of others. The "we can do no wrong" mindset really affects Americans from learning from others
ReplyDeleteI was shocked that the list was critical of Canada's attempt to recognize it's indiginous groups. To call the performance a 'little bit hokey' personifies the contradicitions that Americans live everyday.
The US became the country it is today by nearly exterminating an entire native population and fails to remember this part of history.
It is widely known that February is Black History Month, but I had to look up when Native American Heritage Month was (November) and I would guess many would have the same knowledge on these attempts to recognize the past.
The US has been blessed with the amount of sucess it has experienced as a country, but its lack of willingness to acknowledge its historical wrongs seriously affects its ability to grow from its mistakes and only aids in other countries' resentment toward the US.
I'm too lazy to read thru all the comments, but in general I compare existence of the "America is best" simplicity to bullies in middle school. Some people try really hard to make themselves look dominant, but deep down they are simply hiding insecurity.
ReplyDeleteEspecially when it comes to Canada, a place America should have nothing but positive feelings towards, criticism of their culture/acheivements is basically a fear that we are not successful in our own endeavors. From healthcare to the War in Iraq, the Canadian way is called "weak", "socialist" or just "boring". People who like the American style of constantly acting out are really just hiding their insecurities that there might be several acceptable ways to construct a society.
A final note, there is an important distinction to make between normal support of one's country and the type of mindless insults of other countries that i'm sure we've all heard at some point in our lives.
Canda does not nearly get enough credit. In looking at the top ten of most livable world cities, Canada has 3 of those. The U.S. doesn't make it on until Honolulu and San Francisco which take 27th and 28th respectively. This is just one look at the issue. There is so much more to say about our neighbors to the north.
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